ST. PAUL, MINN.—There's logic to what the Blackhawks are doing. Chicago general manager Stan Bowman wants to build through the draft. He wants a steady flow of young talent coming into his organization to complement the core group of star players on his team led by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith.

But there’s a cost. On Friday, Bowman shipped out two more key players from the Blackhawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team. Brian Campbell and his albatross of a contract was sent to the Florida Panthers for Rostislav Olesz, and Troy Brouwer was traded to the Capitals for a first-round pick.

It follows a summer in which the salary cap forced Bowman to part ways with Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Antti Niemi, Kris Versteeg and others just to field a team.

It’s a necessity. But there’s also a further erosion of the identity that made the Cup-winning Blackhawks team great and greater responsibility placed on the shoulders of unproven players.

“You’ve got to always embrace change,” Bowman said on Friday night. “Especially the way the game is today. No team is going to keep their team together year to year. I think it’s just the reality of the system we play under.”

Bowman is creating room for young players like Kyle Beach, Marcus Kruger and Jeremy Morin. He’s creating salary cap space for a possible splash in free agency—or from the sounds of it on Friday, another trade.

But with every personality that’s removed from that 2010 team, there’s a price to be paid. There was an adjustment period in Chicago this season and it’s looking like that will continue into next year.

“You lost a lot of camaraderie and chemistry going into the season,” coach Joel Quenneville said of Chicago’s transition this year. “A lot of guys lost good friends, linemates and defensive partners. At the same time, the chemistry grew as we got through the season.”

Like Atlanta and San Jose and some of the other teams that benefited from Chicago’s dismantling last summer, there were teams ready to help Chicago in their evolution.

The Blackhawks approached the Capitals about Brouwer and Washington G.M. George McPhee talked it over with his pro scouts. He liked that Brouwer adds a physical element that the Capitals need. He’s a power forward capable of 20 goals, and McPhee loves his versatility, something Bruce Boudreau will surely take advantage of.

On top of all of that, Brouwer has a Stanley Cup ring. To McPhee, there’s a lot of value in that.

“Absolutely, it’s important,” McPhee said. “It’d like to have more guys like that.”

In Campbell, the Panthers get a defenseman who can aid Florida’s transition game. They’re one of the few franchises that can afford his $7 million annual salary and cap hit. In fact, it helps the Panthers get closer to the salary cap floor, which is an issue in Florida.

These GMs view these players as important pieces to get to where Chicago was last year. And they are. Now, the Blackhawks will depend on young, unproven players to fill that void. On the ice. In the dressing room.

Because of that, now more than ever, the pressure is on Chicago’s stars. They need to make this work.

“We’re very confident in the core we have, we’ve committed to those players,” Bowman said. “They’re going to be around a long, long time. And you’ve got to fill in around them.”